Hey Ananth, How are you? I understand that you recently went on a bike trip, just wanted to take some time of yours to ask about your experience.
Hi, I am fine. Thanks for asking and How are you doing? I am always free and excited to discuss about the group bike rides, so feel free to ask about anything.

First, can you please tell share some details about the where was the ride to, location etc.?
Sure. This was the 36 th group bike ride organised by The Knight Ryders, an exclusive honda bike riders club. The location was Gandikota, a small village in the Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh

Why Gandikota? What’s so special about this place?
First, Gandikota is called the Grand Canyon of India and it is as beautiful as the grand canyon in USA. This was suggested by one of the members who was impressed by the beauty of Gandikota.

A natural cave system, Belum Caves, is located in Belum village approx. 60kms from Gandikota. Belum Caves is the second largest cave system in India reaching a depth of 151 ft and a length of more than 3kms.

Last but not the least, The Knight Ryders, have extensively covered Tamil Nadu and some parts of Kerala and Karnataka as part of the group bike rides, however, haven’t done a single ride yet in Andhra Pradesh. So, it was obvious to choose Gandikota as the destination.

So, when and how did you start the ride?
We have a mandatory briefing session before start of each ride. Captain Ramesh and Santosh briefed the riders about the guidelines to be followed and precautions to be taken during the entire ride. After this everyone were distributed a sticker indicating their position in the riding group. Post the briefing, the flag off was around 5:40 AM.

Sounds quite interesting. How was the entire ride managed?
After flag off, commanded by Captain Ramesh, we started our journey in NH 716. The sun was about to rise and it was pleasant to see the red rising sun on the rear view mirrors of the bike. We drove for nearly an hour and half before our first pitstop for refreshment at Hotel Aryas, in the NH716 highway.

The riders had a good South Indian breakfast hot idly, vada, dosa, poori etc. and a good cup of coffee to finish the breakfast. The break was quite refreshing for the riders. We later came to know that the restaurant was run by a relative of a rider and it was a pleasant surprise.

The road further was quite challenging as it was mostly single lane with on coming traffic. We had quite a few hydration and refreshments breaks as it was essential to stretch the legs and the body to continue further in the journey.

The road enroute Kadapa was quite interesting passing through reserve forest areas, ancient temples, villages, mountains, lakes. We encountered lot of stray cattles through out the stretch which made it difficult to ride along.”

The clock was ticking and hunger pangs has taken over the speed now. We finally stopped at Moonlight, a newly opened restaurant in Kadapa. The food was served hot and refreshing. From here we were just an hour away from the destination and everyone was eager to reach soon to witness the sunset in Gandikota.

The road from here to Gandikota was quite interesting. We passed through a long bridge perpendicular and overlooking the Erramala range of hills which was stretched from left to right as far as the eyes can reach. It was a beautiful view and the roads were wide open, the thud of 22 Honda Bikes was definitely a music to the ears. Also, seeing 22 bikes in one stretch on a straight road gave goosebumps. We stopped after Chiti Mitti Chintala Toll Plaza, where riders were modelling for some photos on the backdrop of the beautiful location. Finally, we reached the destination around 3:45pm, 10 hours since we flagged off at Chennai with riding time of nearly 6 hours.”

Day 1 – Evening
Nice to hear. So, what did you do after reaching Gandikota? Where did you stay?
We had booked dormitory at AP Tourism Harita Resort for the next two days. After the long ride, I took a nice hot shower to ward off the tiredness and changed into casual attire. Later, we had some nice refreshments in the nearby local shop and visited the Gandikota Canyon to experience it in the dusk.

How was the experience?
The canyon was quite a serene place with canyon on one side stretching from left to right with Pennar river in the middle. The river could be seen till the Mylavaram reservoir. It was a blissful evening with the sun set.

This situation was apt for the song from the movie நிழல்கள் –

பொன்மாலை பொழுது,
இது ஒரு பொன்மாலை பொழுது,
வானமகள் நாணுகிறாள்,
வேறு உடை பூணுகிறாள்……..

Unfortunately, the place had been strewn with litter, broken bottles etc. Often we view the world tourist sites in awe, however, in my view, India is much more incredible with so many wonders. These needs to be preserved and protected for future generations to enjoy. People need to change their attitude, otherwise the coming generations will not be able to witness these beauties.

Yeah, it’s important for us to preserve the heritage places for future generations. Was there anything planned for the day or that’s it?
After dinner at the resort, we caught with the team to have post ride briefing session. It is our customary practice to discuss the key aspects of the ride, learning points etc. This is one unique aspect which differentiates the club from any ‘motor bike riding’ club.” “One of the member, Madhu was inducted as member of The Knight Ryders club on this occasion.

Since, there were few new riders who joined us on this ride, Captain Ramesh and Santosh explained about how the exclusive ‘Honda bike riders club’ was formed and evolved over one year period. Also, the new riders Ahmed, Raghu, Raj, Satya, Rajan, Chandru, Maddy introduced themselves to the group and there was a get to know session with the other riders of the group. After a long day, we wound up for a good sleep to start the next day fresh for another adventure.

Day 2 – Belum Caves
Ananth, Hope you had a good rest. Can we discuss about the Day 2 of the trip?
Yes. I had a wonderful sleep. Sure, we can discuss about the details of Day 2 trip to Belum Caves. Before that, I want to share about the sun rise experience we witnessed on the Canyon.

Oh, I am eager to hear that.
We all got ready by 5:30 itself to witness the sun rise in the Canyon. The morning weather was pleasant and lot of people were gathered in the Canyon. It was a mesmerising view. The sky was glowing with a mix of grey, blue and orange and the sun was beautiful at the horizon.

After viewing the sun rise, we got ready, had our breakfast and proceeded to Belum Caves. It was a short one hour ride covering a distance of 60kms through interior parts of Andhra Pradesh.

As I explained in the beginning, Belum Caves is a natural cave system which is the second largest cave system in India reaching a depth of 151 ft and a length of more than 3kms. It’s a unique experience and a must visit place unless you are claustrophobic.

We started at the entrance and went down in a spiral staircase to the main hall which then later goes into a labyrinth structure with low ceiling and narrow path with just about a feet gap where one had to squeeze in or even crawling sometimes. The cave was well ventilated so that you don’t get suffocated. In the end, there is a small fountain ‘Pathal Ganga’ which is the farthest accessible point for public. We spent some time inside the cave exploring and taking some nice pictures.

“That’s wonderful to hear.”

After spending sometime at the caves, we had lunch at the nearby local restaurant and proceeded back to our stay place. On the way, we visited the Myalvaram reservoir which was quite a nice sight for the eyes. The water storage was stretched till the eye sight could reach and water was being released from one of the doors.

There were local fishermen trying to catch fish from the dam reservoir. This reminded me of another song which happened to be one of my most favorite from the movie

நிழல்கள்
மடை திறந்து தாவும் நதியலை நான்,

மனம் திறந்து கூவும் சிறு குயில் நான்,
இசை கலைஞன் என் ஆசைகள் ஆயிரம்,
நினைத்தது பலித்தது ஹோ…

The trio Vaali (lyrics), Illayaraja (music) and SPB (vocal) can always be trusted to entertain us with such a good music that can be enjoyed even after decades. We reached the resort in the evening to enjoy a cup of coffee. Later, some of us climbed down nearly 700m into the canyon to enjoy a speed boat ride in the Penna river and visited a nearby water falls. The day ended with dinner and nice conversation
between the riders.

Awesome. Let’s catch up to discuss about your ride back to home tomorrow.

Day 3 – Return to home
Tell me about your experience riding back to home.

It was indeed good to hear from you about the ride. Thanks for sharing your experience.
It was my pleasure. You can check the website www.theknightryders.com, exclusive honda bike riders club that includes details of past rides and you can also see some amazing photos shot at various locations during the group bike rides. You can also follow the bikers club in the social media accounts to get interesting and latest updates on the group bike rides organised by the club.

Sure, I will do. Hope I will catch up with you soon to hear about another interesting ride.

– Adios Amigos till next ride (HaKuNaMaTaTa)